Tag Archives: Souther Salazar

On Friday, I attended the closing reception party of the “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The Hello Kitty exhibit was held as part of the Hello Kitty’s 40th-anniversary celebration. The closing reception occurred in advance of the actual exhibition ending date of May 31, 2015. In addition to the displays of Hello Kitty products through the years, a selection of artworks inspired by Hello Kitty by contemporary artists were on display. I am a big fan of Sanrio and grew up with Hello Kitty items so I was excited see the exhibit.

Hello Kitty Bento

Various Hello Kitty Products

The exhibit was filled with items that I either owned or recognized and it brought me back to my childhood. Back in the late 70s, my family was one of the few Japanese families living in Houston, Texas and I recall my friends crowding around me whenever I brought a Hello Kitty item to school. At the exhibit, there were several displays of Hello Kitty consumer products including a wall of backpacks, bento items and electronic products.

Kozyndan

Yoskay Yamamoto

The best part of the reception was that attendees could get their official exhibition program signed by the artists who contributed artworks to the exhibition. When talking to some of the artists about this blog, many of the artists indicated that have exhibited artworks at Sawtelle Japantown business Giant Robot or GR2. In fact, husband and wife artist team of Kozyndanwas the first art exhibitor at Giant Robot back in 2002. Artist Yoskay Yamamoto, an artist known for fusing urban art with traditional and mythical Japanese elements, will be exhibiting at GR2 with other Japanese artists sometime in October (check Giant Robot’s schedule of events for Yoskay’s upcoming show).

Simone Legno of Tokidoki

Another artist who has shown at Giant Robot is Simone Legno, creator of the Tokidoki brand, an innovative line of apparel, handbags, and accessories. Tokidoki is known for collaboration projects with other companies such as Sanrio and LeSportSac. Legno created a large sculpture called Kittypatra at the exhibit using trademark Tokidoki imagery. Legno has strong ties to Sawtelle Japantown as he lives nearby and has an affinity to Japanese culture.

In addition, Sanrio did its first collaboration with the monkey Julius by artist Paul Frank. He was on hand to sign programs.

I am glad that I was able to attend the exhibit before the ending date. And for those of you who have not attended the exhibition, you have until May 31st before the exhibit officially ends. If you like Hello Kitty, this is a must go see exhibit!

For more photos from the Hello Kitty Closing Reception, go to SawtelleJapantown.com’s Facebook Page.